Robert Geoffrey Trease

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...

(11 August 1909 – 27 January 1998) was a prolific British writer who published 113 books, mainly for children, between 1934 and 1997, starting with '' Bows Against the Barons'' and ending with ''Cloak for a Spy'' in 1997. His work has been translated into 20 languages. He is best known for the children's novel '' Cue for Treason'' (1940). His grandfather was a historian, and was one of the main influences on his work. Trease's children's

historical novels Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

reflect his insistence on historically correct backgrounds, which he meticulously researched. His ground-breaking study ''Tales Out of School'' (1949) pioneered the idea that children's literature should be a serious subject for study and debate. Humphrey Carpenter and Mari Prichard, ''The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature'' Oxford University Press, 1998. (pp. 541–2). When he began his career, his radical viewpoint was a change from the conventional and often

jingoistic Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive and proactive foreign policy, such as a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national inter ...

tone of most children's literature of the time, and he was one of the first authors who deliberately set out to appeal to both boys and girls and to feature strong leading characters of both sexes.

Life and work

Trease was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

in 1909, third and youngest son of George Trease (1873–1932), a wine merchant, and his wife Florence Dale (1874–1955), a doctor's daughter. He won a scholarship to

Nottingham High School Nottingham High School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private fee-charging day school for boys and girls in Nottingham, England, with an infant and junior school (ages 4–11) and senior school (ages 11–18). There were 1177 stu ...

, where he wrote stories, poems, and a three-act play; awarded a

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

scholarship to

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, he found his tutors dull and after a year, left university without a degree and moved to London. Intent on becoming a writer, he also worked with slum children and joined a left-wing group called the "Promethean Society" whose members included Hugh Gordon Porteus and Desmond Hawkins. Trease described his own childhood reading as "a diet of classist and racist historical adventure" but in 1933, he came across a translation of a Russian book titled ''Moscow has a Plan'', in which a Soviet author dramatised the

First five-year plan First five-year plan may refer to: * First five-year plan (China) * First Five-Year Plans (Pakistan) * First five-year plan (Soviet Union) The first five-year plan (, ) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a list of economi ...

for young readers. Inspired by this, in 1934 Trease wrote '' Bows Against the Barons'', a left-wing update of Robin Hood that showcased a radical approach to historical literature for young people. This included the use of modern English, rather than linguistic mannerisms, strong male and female characters, often from less privileged levels of society and meticulous attention to detail. An enduring belief in equality and fairness is a theme in many of his books, as are links between the historical settings of his novels and contemporary issues. ''Bows Against the Barons'' was translated into

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and sold immensely well there; his next work, ''Comrades for the Charter'' was less successful but '' Cue for Treason'' in 1940 proved enduringly popular and remains his best known work. His subjects cover a wide range of historical periods, such as '' The Crown of Violet'', set in

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

, ''The Red Towers of Granada'',

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, ''The Hills of Varna'',

Renaissance Europe The Renaissance ( , ) is a period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and surpass the idea ...

, ''Cue for Treason'' and ''Cloak for a Spy'', Elizabethan England, ''Fire on the Wind'' and ''Popinjay Stairs'', Restoration London, ''Thunder of Valmy'', French Revolution, ''The White Nights of St Petersburg'', the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

and ''Tomorrow Is a Stranger'',

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Trease also wrote modern school stories, including the five Black Banner novels set in the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as ''the Lakes'' or ''Lakeland'', is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Cumbria, North West England. It is famous for its landscape, including its lakes, coast, and mou ...

, the first being '' No Boats on Bannermere'', as well as a number of adult novels, history, plays for radio and television, and biographies. He authored a guide aimed at teaching

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

to young adults, ''The Young Writer: A Practical Handbook''. He wrote three books of

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

: ''A Whiff of Burnt Boats'' (1971), ''Laughter at the Door'' (1974), and in the last year of his life, the final part, ''Farewell the Hills''. This was written for his family and friends, and published privately after his death. Trease was an acknowledged influence on author

Hester Burton Hester Burton (née Wood-Hill; 6 December 1913 – 17 September 2000) was an English writer, mainly of historical fiction for children and young adults. She received the Carnegie Medal (literary award), Carnegie Medal for her 1963 novel ''Time o ...

and inspired others, including

Rosemary Sutcliff Rosemary Sutcliff (14 December 1920 – 23 July 1992) was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novel ...

and Leon Garfield. While in some ways they outpaced him, he continued to write, and published 113 books before "calling it a day" at the age of 88 because of illness. Many were translated for foreign markets, including Asia and Europe. In the United States he won the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'' Book Award for the Children's Spring Festival 1966 for ''This is Your Century''. He married Marian Boyer (1906–1989) in 1933 and they spent most of their marriage in

Colwall Colwall is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Herefordshire, England, situated on the border with Worcestershire, nestling on the western side of the Malvern Hills at the heart of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, AONB. Areas of ...

, near The Downs School,

Great Malvern Great Malvern is an area of the civil parish of Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, in the Malvern Hills District, Malvern Hills district, in the county of Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of O ...

. They had one daughter, Jocelyne, and moved to

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

to be closer to her, shortly before Marian's death.

Works

Children's writing

Junior novels

*'' Bows Against the Barons'' (Lawrence) (1934) *''Comrades for the Charter'' (Lawrence) (1934) *''The New House at Hardale'' ( Boys Own Paper - 2 instalments) (1934) *''Call to Arms'' (Lawrence) (1935) *''Missing from Home'' ( Lawrence & Wishart) (1937) *''Mystery on the Moors'' (Black) (1937) *''The Christmas Holiday Mystery'' (Black) (1937) *''Detectives of the Dales'' (Black) (1938) *''In the Land of the Mogul'' (Black) (1938) *'' Cue for Treason'' ( Blackwell) (1940) *''Running Deer'' (Harrap) (1941) *''Grey Adventurer'' (Blackwell) (1942) *''Black Night, Red Morning'' (Blackwell) (1944) *''Trumpets in the West'' (Blackwell) Revised Edition 1994 (Piper) Paperback only (1947) *''Silver Guard'' (Blackwell) (1948) *'' The Hills of Varna'' ( Macmillan) US title: ''Shadow of the Hawk'' ( Vanguard Press) (1948) *'' No Boats on Bannermere'' ( Heinemann) (1949) (1st in Bannermere series) *''The Secret Fiord'' (Macmillan) (1950) *''Sir Walter Raleigh: Captain and Adventurer'' (

Vanguard The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. ...

) (1950) *''Under Black Banner'' (Heinemann) (1951) (2nd in Bannermere series) *'' The Crown of Violet'' (Macmillan) US title: ''Web of Traitors'' (Vanguard) (1952) *''Black Banner Players'' (Heinemann) (1952) (3rd in Bannermere series) *''The Barons' Hostage'' (Phoenix House) Revised Edition 1973 (Brockhampton Press) (1952) *''The Silken Secret'' (Blackwell) (1953) *''The Island of the Gods'' ( Children's Newspaper - Serial 14 parts) (1954) *''Black Banner Abroad'' (Heinemann) (1954) (4th in Bannermere series) *''Word to Caesar'' (Macmillan) US title: ''Message to Hadrian'' (Vanguard) (1955) *''The School Beyond the Snows'' (Children's Newspaper) (1955) *''The Gates of Bannerdale'' (Heinemann) (1956) (5th in Bannermere series) *''Mist over Athelney'' (Macmillan) US title: ''Escape to King Alfred'' (Vanguard) (1958) *''Thunder of Valmy'' (Macmillan) US title: ''Victory at Valmy'' (Vanguard) (1960) *''The House of Blue Dragons'' (Children's Newspaper - Serial 16 parts) (1960) *''The Maythorn Story'' (Heinemann) (1960) *''Change at Maythorn'' (Heinemann) (1962) *''Follow my Black Plume'' (Macmillan) (1963) *''A Thousand for Sicily'' (Macmillan) (1964) *''The Red Towers of Granada'' (Macmillan) (1966) *''The White Nights of St Petersburg'' (Macmillan) (1967) *''Horsemen on the Hills'' (Macmillan) (1971) *''Popinjay Stairs'' (Macmillan) (1972) *''The Iron Tsar'' (Macmillan) (1975) *''Violet for Bonaparte'' (Macmillan) (1976) *''The Seas of Morning'' (

Puffin Puffins are any of three species of small alcids (auks) in the bird genus ''Fratercula''. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crev ...

) Paperback only (1976) *''The Field of the Forty Footsteps'' (Macmillan) (1977) *''Mandeville'' (Macmillan) (1980) *''Saraband for Shadows'' (Macmillan) (1982) *''The Cormorant Venture'' (Macmillan) (1984) *''Tomorrow is a Stranger'' (Heinemann) (1987) *''The Arpino Assignment'' (Walker) (1988) *''Shadow Under the Sea'' (Walker) (1990) *''Calabrian Quest'' (Walker) (1990) *''Song for a Tattered Flag'' (Walker) Paperback only (1992) *''Fire on the Wind'' (Macmillan) (1993) *''Bring Out the Banners'' (Walker) (1994) *''No Horn at Midnight'' (Macmillan) (1995) *''Curse on the Sea'' (Hodder Children's Books) Paperback only (1996) *''Cloak for a Spy'' (Macmillan) Paperback only (1997) *''Danger in the Wings'' (Hodder Children's Books) (1997)

Young adult novels

*''The Fair Flower of Danger'' (Blackwell) (1955) *''The Dutch are Coming'' (

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited is a publishing imprint and originally a British publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half- Scot half- American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''Jame ...

) (1965) *''Bent is the Bow'' (Nelson) (1965) *''The Runaway Serf'' (Hamish Hamilton) (1968) *''A Masque for the Queen'' (Hamish Hamilton) (1970) *''A Ship to Rome'' (Heinemann) (1972) *''A Voice in the Night'' (Heinemann) (1973) *''The Chocolate Boy'' (Heinemann) (1975) *''When the Drums Beat'' (Heinemann) (1976) *''The Spycatchers'' (Hamish Hamilton) (1976) *''The Claws of the Eagle'' (Heinemann) (1977) *''The Running of the Deer'' (Hamish Hamilton) (1982) *''A Flight of Angels'' (Macmillan) (1989) *''Aunt Augusta's Elephant'' (Macmillan) (1991) *''Henry, King to Be'' (Macdonald Young Books) (1995) *''Page to Queen Jane'' (Macdonald Young Books) (1996) *''Elizabeth, Princess in Peril'' (Macdonald Young Books) (1997) *''Mission to Marathon'' (

A & C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing ''Who's Who'' since 1849 and the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' between 1827 and 1903. It offers a wide variety of boo ...

) (1997)

Other children's books

*''Red Comet: A Tale of Travel in the USSR'' (Lawrence) (1937) *''Fortune, My Foe: The Story of Sir Walter Raleigh'' ( Methuen) (1949) *''The Mystery of Moorside Farm - also contains The Secret of Sharn and In the Blood'' (Macmillan) (1949) *''The Young Traveller in India and Pakistan'' (Phoenix House) (1949) *''Enjoying Books'' (Phoenix House) (1951) *''The Young Traveller in England and Wales'' (Phoenix House) (1953) *''Seven Queens of England'' (Heinemann) (1953) *''Seven Kings of England'' (Heinemann) (1955) *''The Young Traveller in Greece'' (Phoenix House) (1956) *''Edward Elgar, Maker of Music'' (Macmillan) (1960) *''The Young Writer'' (Nelson) (1961) *''Wolfgang Mozart : The Young Composer'' (Macmillan) (1961) *''Seven Stages'' (Heinemann) (1964) *''This is Your Century'' (Heinemann) (1965) *''Seven Sovereign Queens'' (Heinemann) (1968) *''Byron, A Poet Dangerous to Know'' (Macmillan) (1969) *''Days to Remember, A Garland of Historic Anniversaries'' (Heinemann) Short Stories (1973) *''Britain Yesterday'' (Basil Blackwell) (1975) *''A Wood by Moonlight and other Stories'' (Heinemann) Short Stories (1981) *''Timechanges: The Evolution of Everyday Life'' (Kingfisher) (1985) *''Looking through History: The Edwardian Era'' (Batsford) (1986) *''Hidden Treasure'' (Evans) (1989)

Adult writing

Novels

*''Such Divinity'' (

Chapman and Hall Chapman & Hall is an imprint owned by CRC Press, originally founded as a British publishing house in London in the first half of the 19th century by Edward Chapman and William Hall. Chapman & Hall were publishers for Charles Dickens (from 1840 ...

) (1939) *''Only Natural'' (Chapman and Hall) (1940) *''Snared Nightingale'' (Macmillan) (1957) *''So Wild the Heart'' (Macmillan) (1959)

Autobiography

*''A Whiff of Burnt Boats'' (Macmillan) (1971) *''Laughter at the Door'' (Macmillan) (1974) *''Farewell the Hills'' (Privately Printed) (1998)

Other adult works

*''The Supreme Prize'' (Arthur H Stockwell) Poems (c1926) *''The Unsleeping Sword'' (Martin Lawrence) (1934) *''Walking in England'' (Fenland Press) (1935) *''North Sea Spy'' (Fore) (1939) *''Clem Voroshilov: The Red Marshall'' (Pilot Press) (1940) *''Army without Banners'' (Fore) (1945) *''Tales Out of School'' (Heinemann) Revised Edition 1964 (1948) *''The Italian Story: From the Earliest Times to 1946'' (Macmillan) (1963) *''The Grand Tour'' (Heinemann) (1967) *''Matthew Todd's Journal: A Gentleman's Gentleman in Europe 1814-1820'' (Editor) (Heinemann) (1968) *''Nottingham: A Biography'' (Macmillan) (1970) *''The

Condottieri Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

: Soldiers of Fortune'' (

Thames and Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

) (1971) *''

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

and his World'' (Thames and Hudson) (1972) *'' D. H. Lawrence, The Phoenix and the Flame'' (Macmillan) Biography (1973) *''London: A Concise History'' (Thames and Hudson) (1975) *''Portrait of a Cavalier: William Cavendish, First Duke of Newcastle'' (Macmillan) Biography (1979)

Published plays

*''After the Tempest'' (published in ''Best One Act Plays of 1938'') (Muller) (1938) *''The Dragon Who Was Different and Other Plays for Children'' (Muller) (1938) *''The Shadow of Spain and Other Plays'' (Blackwell) (1953)

Awards

*New York Herald Tribune Award for ''This is Your Century''

References

* * * * Margaret Meek, ''Geoffrey Trease'' (The Bodley Head Monographs, 1960)

External links

Google Book Search for 'Geoffrey Trease'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trease, Geoffrey 1909 births 1998 deaths English historical novelists English children's writers Writers from Nottingham People educated at Nottingham High School 20th-century English novelists Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period Writers of historical fiction set in the modern age